



m-mmm 



THE 



Relation of Baptized Children 
to the Church. 



ft/ 

By L^ J. COPPIN, D.D. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. : 

A. M. E. Publication Department, 

631 Pine Street. 
1890. 



Coscvass 






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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Preface, 5 

1. Judaism and Christianity, 9 

2. Theory and Practice, 29 

3. Mode of Baptism, 46 

4. Condition and Mode of receiving Children into full 

Membership, 62 



ADDENDA. 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

1. Its Origin, 79 

2. Design, 81 

3. Duty and Qualifications of Teachers, 87 

4. How to make Room for it, 98 



PREFACE. 



IN presenting this little work to the 
public, it is earnestly hoped that a 
careful perusal of its contents will awaken 
a new interest in a subject that deserves 
careful and serious attention. My con- 
clusions are reached after twenty-five years 
of membership in the Christian Church, all 
of which have been spent in official capa- 
city, both in the Church proper and in the 
Sunday-school department of the Church. 
I have observed how the children of some 
families wander away from the Church as 
they reach manhood and womanhood, while 
those of others grow up in the Church and 
never leave it. I have also observed that 
when series of special meetings are held, 
and many adults are converted and brought 
into the Church, the prevailing opinion 
(5) 



6 PREFACE. 

seems to be that if fifty per cent, remain 
the effort has been a success. Of course 
the other half drifts away with those who 
are called backsliders. The thought that 
has followed me through these years is 
this : Is such a condition of things ab- 
solutely necessary ? if not, where lies the 
trouble ? This led to a more careful read- 
ing of the Word of God and a study of the 
Discipline of my Church. I am satisfied 
that both the Bible and the Discipline 
warrant the position which I take in the 
following pages, and that the trouble is 
not in the plan of salvation, but in the 
neglect of Christian parents and Christian 
people generally to do their whole duty. 

This humble contribution upon the sub- 
ject is given in good faith, and with no 
other desire than to do my share of the 
work of saving our children from sin and 

ruin. 

The Author. 



Relation of Baptized Children to 
the Church. 



CHAPTER I. 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 



GOD, whether in nature or revelation, 
is a God of system and order. It is 
this fact clearly seen that immortalizes 
Pope's saying, " Order is heaven's first 
law." The orderly development and ex- 
tension of the kingdom of heaven on earth 
is a beautiful and systematic unfolding of a 
great plan, marked at every step with evi- 
dent design. The Church organized in the 
tent of Abraham, and handed down by 
patriarch and prophet through the ages, is 
unique. From Abraham to Christ there 

can be traced an unbroken chain of events, 

(o) 



IO BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

all of which conspire to the establishment 
of the Christian Church, and this makes 
it the legitimate offspring of the Jewish 
Church. Long before the Messiah came, 
the Messianic idea was prevalent among 
the Jewish people. I grant that the entire 
significance and scope were not fully com- 
prehended, even by the foremost of Mes- 
sianic writers ; but they had the right 
notion about it, and the unfolding and 
enlargement of it were the work of suc- 
ceeding generations. A peace kingdom, 
a reign of righteousness, a subjugation of 
evil forces, a supreme central power that 
would radiate an influence upon all people, 
and gather them, and subdue them, was 
the conception of the prophets who are 
called Messianic. But all the time the 
fact that this movement should be of 
Jewish origin was not lost sight of. At 
last, when the Messiah came, " He came 
unto His .own." And, again, when the 
first command was given by Him to His 
disciples to go forth and proclaim His 
presence and mission, they were told that 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. II 

their work was among the Jews only ; not 
a city of the Gentiles was to be entered by 
them. 

This initiatory work being done, the dis- 
ciples returned to await further orders. 
When they were again sent forth it was 
with the following commission : " Go ye 
therefore, make disciples of all nation's, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

The limitations of the first command 
were but for a time; now, in keeping with 
the original plan, all restrictions are re- 
moved, and all nations are to be brought 
into the fold. 

But how were disciples to be made ? 
That is, by what rite, if any, were they to 
be inducted into this newly organized 
Church, and made to feel entitled to its 
blessings and to its privileges ? The 
method of making Jews was well under- 
stood. Circumcision was the solitary way, 
at least so far as ceremony was concerned. 
If a man rejected circumcision, he thereby 
made himself an alien to the common heri- 
tage of the covenant people. 



12 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

During the flight from Egypt and the 
meanderings and wars in the wilderness, 
this sacred rite of circumcision was neg- 
lected ; but it was held in solemn remem- 
brance, and as soon as Canaan was reached 
it was administered even upon the adults. 
I hold, then, that without circumcision (un- 
less it was impossible to perform it) no 
man was within the limits of the covenant 
people; but with it, no one dare dispute 
his rights. Now we come to the pivotal 
point : The Old or Jewish Church was not 
destroyed, but reorganized, and this is an 
important fact which should be remembered. 

Whatever else our Lord may have 
taught enigmatically, He taught plainly the 
relation of the Old and New Dispensations. 
" Think not that I am come to destroy the 
law or the prophets : I am not come to 
destroy but to fulfill," were His utterances 
in the sermon on the Mount. 

Again and again He quoted from the 
Old Testament. When He said, " Search 
the Scriptures," He gave as a reason the 
fact that they testified of Him. When He 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. I 3 

gave a rebuke to the disciples who were 
journeying to Emmaus, it was because they 
were slow to understand the Scriptures 
concerning Himself. 

Now, regarding Christ as the connecting 
link, the Jewish and Christian Churches 
were united in Him, and the work begun 
by the former was carried on by the latter 
on a larger scale. Our Lord Himself took 
charge of the Church as reorganized, in- 
troduced and expounded its doctrines, and 
set forth its claims. John the Baptist, 
acting as the forerunner of Christ, intro- 
duced the rite of baptism by water, as the 
door of entrance into the new Covenant. 
Our Lord accepted this new rite, and was 
Himself baptized. The work of John the 
Baptist was substantially completed when 
he baptized the Lord Jesus. Previous to 
this act, John the Baptist ceased not to 
proclaim the coming kingdom and to initi- 
ate the newcomers ; but as soon as Christ 
practically indorsed the work, John said, 
" He must increase, but I must decrease." 
Some of John's disciples immediately left 



14 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

him and followed Christ, who thenceforth 
became the center of influence and author- 
ity. Baptism was continued by the dis- 
ciples of our Lord in His immediate 
presence, and when it was established 
beyond a possible doubt that baptism, not 
circumcision, was the door of entrance, 
Christ left the region of the Jordan, and 
went with His disciples into Galilee, and 
turned His attention to preaching. He 
announced that the kingdom of heaven 
was at hand, and called upon men to re- 
pent and believe the Gospel. During the 
remainder of our Lord's ministry, the 
Church work was under His supervision. 
Now mark well the way in which it was 
formally and finally transferred to His suc- 
cessors. They were commanded to wait 
at Jerusalem until they received the Holy 
Ghost as the seal of their mission ; then 
they were to go forth and make disciples, 
and baptism was again specifically named 
as the ceremony to be performed in mak- 
ing them. How carefully the door of en- 
trance was guarded ! Notwithstanding that 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 1 5 

the rite of baptism had been most defi- 
nitely indorsed by our Lord, yet He left 
no room for a misunderstanding upon 
the subject. And so, upon handing the 
work over to new hands, the charge to ob- 
serve this new rite was solemnly renewed. 
Thus the work of reorganization was com- 
plete, and the Church regularly handed 
over to the Apostles. I do not see how 
any one reading the Scriptures without the 
blindness of prejudice can fail to see, first, 
that the Christian Church is the successor 
of the Jewish ; and, second, that baptism 
in the Christian Church regularly succeeds 
the circumcision of the Jewish. % 

The next thing in order to be considered 
is, who are the proper subjects for baptism? 
Concerning circumcision, the subjects were 
all of the Jewish people, the children in- 
cluded. Indeed, it began with the children. 

Now, in the absence of a command to 
the contrary, it would be but logical to con- 
clude that the same rule must obtain in the 
Christian Church. According to this, then, 



I 6 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

I should say in answer to the question, Who 
are the proper subjects for baptism? Be- 
ginning with the children, all who accept 
Christ as their Saviour. A large majority 
of the Christian world take this ground, 
but there are those who hold that children 
are not to be included. Much has been 
said upon this subject of infant baptism, 
but, as by many the propriety of adminis- 
tering it is still questioned, it may be well 
to give a few additional reasons for indors- 
ing it. In the New Testament, no express 
command is given to baptize children ; and 
this, all things else considered, is a point 
in favor of it, instead of against it. 

It is so clearly inferred that one has to 
go out of his way to steer clear of it. It is 
taken for granted and, therefore, not men- 
tioned. 

We have already shown that baptism 
takes the place of circumcision, and it is 
well known that children were taken into 
the Jewish Church by circumcision. 

In the light of these two facts alone, then, 
how can we in reason deny the children of 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. I 7 

Christians the blessing enjoyed by the 
Jewish children, when we are so ready, as 
adults, to claim the blessing which was en- 
joyed by their parents ? 

If in this new arrangement the children 
are not named for admission, neither are 
they named for exclusion. 

The command was simply to baptize ; the 
subjects, as a matter of fact, are not named 
at all (see St. Matt, xxviii. 19), and why 
should they be ? I think it is Hibbard on 
Baptism who makes the point, that if a 
man who had his sheep and lambs all 
designated by a certain mark should give 
an order for the mark to be changed, the 
shepherd would be presumptuous to leave 
out the lambs, unless expressly ordered to 
do so. Now, it is by just such an infer- 
ence that we hold to infant baptism. We 
have no command to leave out the children. 

Again, granting that there is no express 
command given to baptize children, we 
have another parallel in the matter of 
administering the Lord's Supper. There 
were no women present when it was 



I 8 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

ordained, but has the Church, at any 
period of its existence, excluded them 
from a participation in the body and blood 
of our Lord ? If, then, baptism is binding 
upon Christians, and if children are not to 
be excluded, they must bear some definite 
relation to the Christian Church ; they must 
have certain rights and privileges ; there 
must be a principle involved. But a step 
farther: Did our Lord, the great Founder 
of the Christian Church, say a?iy thing about 
the children and their relation to the king- 
dom of heaven on earth, by which His lov- 
ing voice can be interpreted? 

Fortunately we are not left entirely to 
inference. Our Lord has spoken most 
definitely upon the subject. The follow- 
ing quotations bear directly upon the 
spiritual relation of children to Christ's 
kingdom : 

" Verily I say unto you, except ye be 
converted, and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven" (St. Matt, xviii. 3). 

11 Suffer the little children to come unto 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 1 9 

Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
kingdom of God" (St. Mark x. 14). 

In St. Luke xviii. 15-17, the statement 
is similar to that above quoted in St. Mark, 
except, in St. Mark, the word is children, 
translated from -a>.d>a, while in St. Luke it 
is infants, translated from Zpz<fr i% The oc- 
currence of both words is fortunate, as it 
removes the possibility of a doubt as to 
the age of the persons referred to. For 
some have suggested that the phrase little 
children might have the same meaning in 
this place as that generally given it in the 
Epistles of St. John. 

But concerning this point it should be 
remembered that the word in the Epistles 
that is translated children is ri&ia, which, 
though sometimes interchanged with vmXa 
when children is the meaning, is almost 
always used to express a state of kindly 
feeling, which has no reference at all to 
age. Therefore, dai'lings would be a 
much better translation for ri&ia than 
would children. Now let us notice in 
order this set of words : 



20 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

itaidia, children ; they may be large or 
small. 

Tix,vta f darlings ; they may be children or 
adults. 

Bpiw, babies, or infants ; certainly never 
adults. Now, it is important to remember 
that the word rewta — darlings — never oc- 
curs in our Lord's reference to children. 
I think it is abundantly established, then, 
that the persons of whom our Lord spoke 
were small children. But some have 
acknowledged, as acknowledge they must, 
that the persons referred to by our Lord 
were small children; but, they say, what 
He meant to teach was this : those who 
humble themselves and become in humil- 
ity, innocence, etc., like children. Well, 
granting that His meaning involves this 
idea, you must remember that one thing is 
settled beyond a shadow of doubt, namely, 
that He assigned those very little children 
in question a place in His kingdom: their 
membership in the kingdom of God is em- 
phatically declared, and that is just what 
we are now endeavoring to prove. 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 21 

The first thing to settle is, are children 
members of Christ's spiritual kingdom 
which He came to establish on earth? 
How they came so to be involves another 
question. 

Having shown that children are recog- 
nized citizens of the "kingdom of heaven," 
we come next to consider what citizenship 
in that kingdom involves. 

The terms, kingdom of heaven and king- 
dom of God, are synonymous, and mean the 
spiritual reign of the Messiah on earth, 
the kingdom of God's grace. Those who 
belong to this kingdom were by Divine 
arrangement organized into a visible 
Church ; hence, the terms kingdom of 
heaven, kingdom of God, mean, secondly, 
the visible Church. Now do not consider 
this far-fetched, for if we say that the vis- 
ible Church is not the kingdom of heaven 
in its visible aspect, it makes the phrase 
simply figurative, and refers only to a kind, 
of influence upon earth, but not something 
visibly set forth in the lives and conduct of 
those who are given membership therein. 



2 2 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

So, to avoid meaning worse than nothing, 
we must concede the point that the reign 
of the Messiah on earth is only seen and 
known as it operates in and through the 
Christian Church. Since, then, the king- 
dom of heaven is the visible Church, and 
children are members of the kingdom of 
heaven, it follows, by a syllogism, that 
children are members of the visible Church. 
Did it ever occur to you that children 
have this advantage of adults, viz. : the 
adult gets his membership in the kingdom 
through the visible Church, i.e., through an 
acceptation of the plan of salvation as 
brought to his knowledge through the 
teaching of the Christian Church, while 
children come in exactly at the other door? 
They are in the kingdom of heaven in spite 
of the visible Church. So when we deny 
them a right to ceremonial membership in 
the Church as orgci7iized, we are simply 
denying them the less, while they, by Di- 
vine right, are already in possession of the 
greater. That children are included in the 
covenant of redemption no one denies, 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 23 

and it is of the greatest interest to bear in 
mind that they are so .affected by their 
relation to Christ through the Atonement 
that they begin life in a state of exemption 
from original guilt. This statement does 
not deny the fact that they are born in the 
image of fallen Adam, and that they inherit 
from him a corrupt nature ; but it does af- 
firm that they sustain a twofold relation : 
a natural relation to Adam, and a spiritual 
relation to Christ. 

This twofold relation is not a contradic- 
tion. The same is true of an adult. 

Even after his conversion there remains 
in him a primal bias to evil. He must 
watch and pray, lest he enter into temp- 
tation. 

The flesh continues its strivings against 
the spirit ; he is still tempted and tried, and 
without Divine assistance he cannot stand. 
If, then, the adult holds this twofold rela- 
tion, it must be easy to see the possibility 
of the child's holding a similar one. As my 
subject has to do with baptized children, one 
may be led to infer that I am an advocate 



24 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

of baptismal regeneration ; but let me say, 
once for all, I am not. I accord nothing to 
a baptized child that I do not to an unbap- 
tized one, except external privileges. ' I 
have said elsewhere that, without the re- 
generation that comes of conscious faith, 
all infants are by virtue of the Atonement 
placed in a state of gracious acceptance, 
which is equivalent to the state reached 
by the adult through justifying faith and 
obedience. 

But another question arises : Do the 
children jor whom we are claiming Church 
privileges on account of their baptism 
need to be converted ? This depends al- 
together upon what we mean by conver- 
sion. In the words of our Lord, " Except 
ye be converted," the word translated con- 
verted is straphete, from the verb strepho, 
which means to turn. This turning may 
be either of the body or mind. In the 
middle voice it would mean, to turn one's- 
self. Again, it may mean to turn from 
a good to a bad purpose. However, it 
means to turn from a given position, or 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 25 

belief, or course of action to its opposite. 
It will be important in this connection to 
notice that our Lord never said concern- 
ing children that they must be converted, 
or born again ; but it was concerning adults 
that He used this language ; whereas, con- 
cerning the children, He says, Of such is 
the kingdom of heaven. It is only when 
they come to the years of accountability, 
and enter upon a life of disobedience, that 
He says they must change their course. 
I think we might as well hold correct views 
concerning native depravity, original sin 
and actual transgression. 

No man ever was or ever will be held re- 
sponsible for Adam's sins. This would be 
unjust, and God is just. Every man is to 
be punished for his own sins, and no one 
can sin till he is capable of committing a 
moral act. The sins of the fathers that are 
visited upon the children, as spoken of in 
the second commandment, are the sins of 
the fathers that have been adopted by the 
children and thus made their own ; they 
consequently fall heir to the same punish- 



26 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

ment that was inflicted upon their parents; 
but it does not and could not mean that 
an innocent child, who never sinned, will 
be punished for his father's sins. But to 
put the question in another form : Have 
children a sinful nature at birth? and is not 
a work of grace needed in order to make 
them heirs of the kingdom ? 

I answer, yes ; but, thanks to a wise and 
loving Heavenly Father, who gave His 
Son to redeem the world, children in- 
cluded, this necessary work is done ,for 
them by the Atonement, else how dare 
we claim that our children, dying in in- 
fancy, are saved. Certainly it is not the 
accident of death that saves them, nor is it 
logical or sensible to infer that the Atone- 
ment benefits them, provided they die, but 
not otherwise. In order to present the 
subject, as it appears to me, I suggest the 
following formula : 

i. Children are born with a depraved 
nature, in the image of fallen Adam ; but 
their salvation is secured by the Atonement. 

2. They cannot sin until they are capable 



JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 27 

of performing moral actions, hence they 
are in a state of gracious acceptance, and 
so remain till they reach the years of moral 
responsibility. 

3. They are members of Christ's king- 
dom, hence of the Church, which is the vis- 
ible or objective aspect of that kingdom. 

4. Children when baptized are cere- 
monially handed over to the Church, and 
at once, by virtue of this initiatory rite, 
have certain claims upon and rights in 
that Church as an organization. 

5. Those rights and privileges are, as a 
matter of fact, the very same that are en- 
joyed by any other member ; but children 
should be exempted from certain discipli- 
nary regulations, and from the obligations 
to take communion and perform other 
Church duties until they are capable of 
understanding such obligations. Then, 
even when that period of understanding is 
reached, they are bound to subscribe to 
them, in order to deserve their punishment 
or enjoy their blessings. 

It is the indispensable duty of the Chris- 



28 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

tian Church to begin the work of instruct- 
ing the children in those things as soon as 
they are able to understand them. This 
instruction, faithfully and properly given, 
will enable the child, even when quite 
young, to have a fair knowledge of what 
the Church teaches concerning Christianity. 
One of the most pious women I know says, 
she can remember distinctly things which 
occurred when she was but three years of 
age, but she cannot remember when she 
did not love the Lord. Of course, this re- 
sult came only of faithful and timely train- 
ing, and is a proof of what can be accom- 
plished under proper direction. 



CHAPTER II. 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 



ALL regularly organized churches have 
perhaps a theory upon this subject of 
child training, but what about the practice ? 
A theory without practice is worthless. 
What is the theory of the A. M. E. Church 
upon this subject ? See Book of Discipline, 
page 125, section iii. There the minister 
in charge is required by a " shall " to 

1. Gather in the children. 

2. Instruct them in the Catechism of our 
Church. 

3. Preach to them on the subject of 
education. 

4. Talk with them at their homes. 

5. Explain to them the nature of re- 
ligion. 

6. Take the names of those who have 

(29) 



30 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

been truly awakened and admit them to 
society. 

7. Form them into classes for the pur- 
pose of giving them religious instructions. 

8. Teach them the nature, privileges, 
design and obligations of baptism. 

9. He shall further appoint a suitable 
leader for each class to instruct it in his 
absence, and recommend to him those who 
are suitable to be admitted on trial. 

I think it would be difficult to find in 
any church a larger array of requirements 
concerning the religious care of children. 
But what comes of all this ? I have been 
a communicant member of the Church 
since 1865 (twenty-four years), and have 
been in the ministry since 1876 (thirteen 
years), and I have not, in a single instance, 
seen those provisions practiced by any one. 
And more than this, whenever I have at- 
tempted to do so, I have been told that 
the idea was a new and dangerous one, 
and was un-Methodistic. 

I have conversed with a large number 
of the leading ministers of our Church 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 3 1 

upon the subject, and with but few excep- 
tions they have bidden me be careful. 

And so it is ; the disciplinary require- 
ments, under the head of " Duty to Chil- 
dren," remain a dead letter as to practice, 
and it is clear to any close observer that 
the sentiment of the Church is against its 
practice. 

If during any given quarter, on a circuit 
or in a station, no adults die, however 
many children may die, no matter what 
their age or when baptized, when the 
question is reached in the Quarterly Con- 
ference, " How many have died this 
quarter," the answer is, " None." Let 
us draw a picture. Here is a child of a 
member of the Church; it has been bap- 
tized at the altar; its name has been re- 
corded upon the Church register; it has 
joined the Sunday-school and has been 
again registered there. During its illness 
it has been visited by the teacher of the 
class to which it belongs in Sunday-school; 
its death is reported to the minister, who 
attends the funeral; in his address he 



32 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

refers to its Sunday-school career, and 
tells the parents that they hare an angel in 
heaven. He holds Quarterly Conference 
the same night, and the recording steward 
answers question eleven, by saying that 
nobody has died this quarter, and the sec- 
retary promptly records it as if it were 
true. This picture is not overdrawn ; it is 
the invariable practice of our Church. 

Now I, for one, believe it is time to look 
squarely at this matter, and call upon the 
Church to demand that its ministers carry 
out the requirements of the discipline. 

From what I have learned by convers- 
ing with thoughtful men upon the subject, 
the difficulty seems to be this: how shall 
we induct the child into the Church when 
it reaches the years of moral re 'sponsibilityf 
"He has not been born again," says one; 
"he has not been converted," says an- 
other; "he must have a new heart," says 
a third. Then another, who is quite con- 
fident that he is right, says, " he is too 
young." Well, I think all this brings us 
into quite a dilemma. If these things be 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. $3 

true, I see nothing to do but allow the 
child to eo out and mingle with the world, 
get steeped in all its vices, then let the 
Church send for an evangelist, an expert, 
get up a protracted meeting and go in hot 
pursuit after the prodigal, and catch him 
if you can. But if this course is absolutely 
necessary, then I say that our whole re- 
ligious system is a house upon the sand, 
and is safe only provided a storm doesn't 
come. 

Is it not possible for me to meet my 
child at the age of moral responsibility, 
tell him that he was baptized and why ; 
tell him that Jesus died to save him, and 
that from his baptism till now I have held 
myself bound by vows to see that he 
obeyed the Lord ; and now that he is old 
enough to know the nature and end of the 
sacrament of baptism I can no longer be 
surety 7 for him, but he must take upon 
himself the vows which I have been carry- 
ing ? Xow, if we grant, as grant we must 
that the child is not held responsible for 
natural depravity, but only for actual sins 



34 BAPTIZED CHILDREN*. 

committed by himself, it must be easy to 
see that there is no great sacrifice for him 
to make upon approaching conscious re- 
sponsibility. How can he feel the remorse 
and shame and contrition of one who has 
been openly and willfully living a life of 
sin for many years ? Teach the child that 
he should truly repent and ask God's for- 
giveness for any sin that he has committed 
since his conscious knowledge of sin. Be 
sure to tell him that if he does so, he will 
be forgiven by God. Tell him what a 
dreadful thing it would be to turn his back 
upon the Lord who died for him, and to 
dishonor his parents who stood surety for 
him when he was too young to act for 
himself. Tell him that at a certain time 
the class to which he belongs will be pre- 
sented for admission on trial, and that if 
he consents to give himself to the Lord, 
He will receive him, but if he refuses to 
do so, he willfully rejects the only means 
of salvation. 

Let some such course be wisely and 
faithfully pursued, and I venture to say 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 35 

that a large majority of our children would 
never enter upon a life of wretchedness 
and sin. 

But someone will probably say, this 
method is too easy to be genuine ; but he 
who takes this stand must be content to 
be illogical. 

If a number of persons start out on a 
journey, destined for a certain place, some 
may go by rail, some by boat, some in 
carriage or on horseback; others still may 
walk. They will arrive at their destination 
at different periods, but once being there, 
the fact that they are there is the same in 
each case. Hence, no one can dispute 
the genuineness of the presence of the 
person. The only thing left for him would 
be to criticise the manner of coming. In 
like manner, if *a person is Christ's at all, 
he is genuinely His, no matter how he 
came so to be. Do not, therefore, mistake 
the thing itself for the method of accom- 
plishing it. Now, it is the "more excellent 
way" that I here insist upon, and I do in- 
sist upon it for the following reason : First, 



36 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

because our Lord said, " Suffer the little 
children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not." O how we delight to make this 
quotation when we are addressing our 
Sunday-schools ! How, then, can we for- 
bid them ? Could our Lord have spoken 
more plainly on the subject? When the 
disciples asked Him concerning who should 
be greatest in the kingdom, did He not 
stand a child in the midst of them and re- 
fer to it as a guide for them ? 

Let us refer to St. Matthew xviii., where 
the conversation in question is recorded, 
and we find there the following (verses I-6J: 
"At the same time came the disciples to 
Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the 
kingdom of heaven ? and Jesus called a 
little child unto Him, and sat him in the 
midst of them, and said, Verily, I say unto 
you, except ye be converted, and become 
as little children, ye shall not enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, 
therefore, shall humble himself as this 
little child, the same is greatest in the 
kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. $7 

receive one such little child in my name 
receiveth me. But whoso shall offend 
(cause to sin) one of these little ones 
which believe in me, it were better for him 
that a millstone were hanged about his 
neck and that he were drowned in the 
depth of the sea." 

Then notice verse 10: "Take heed that 
ye despise not one of these little ones; for 
I say unto you, that in heaven their angels 
do always behold the face of my Father 
which is in heaven." Conclude now with 
verse 14: "Even so, it is not the will of 
your Father which is in heaven that one of 
those little ones should perish." To hunt 
other passages to prove that children are 
accepted by Christ would be superfluous ; 
these abundantly prove it. If it should be 
suggested that the child in question may 
have been a babe, and, therefore, too young 
to either accept or reject Christ, whereas 
my argument is in favor of bringing chil- 
dren to Christ after they have reached the 
years of moral responsibility, I answer by 
referring again to St. Matthew xviii. 6, 



38 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

in which the words " which believe in me " 
occur. I have no idea that this little child 
which "believed" in Christ knew the 
Apostles' Creed, or understood the doctrine 
of the Atonement, or could tell whether or 
not the Holy Ghost proceeds from both 
the Father and Son ; but he accepted 
Christ, and this is all he could have done 
if he had already served a probation at 
sinning. But be this as it will, I plant my- 
self upon the Scripture, and upon it I 
stand or fall. 

Again, I call coming to Christ in child- 
hood a more excellent way, because reason 
teaches that it is a thousand times easier, 
better and safer, for one to turn to the 
Lord in the days of youth (as Solomon 
puts it) before he learns the ways of sin; 
before sinful habits are formed ; when 
there is really but little to give up ; before 
he learns the fascination of worldly pleas- 
ure. A young person who enters into 
society without the restraining influences 
of Christianity may naturally enough be 
led astray. Besides the fact of a natural 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 39 

evil inclination there are many objective 
evil influences to allure him. But the first 
and greatest reason I wish to give for in- 
sisting upon an early decision is that God 
requires it. " Remember now thy Creator 
in the days of thy youth " is the language 
of the Bible, and no Christian can afford 
to treat lightly, much less reject, any- 
thing that bur Lord requires of mankind. 
No promise is given for the morrow, but 
to-day is the day to which our attention is 
called. Then, I beg to call attention to 
what I regard a very serious matter : there 
is a great deal of allowance made for per- 
sons who are out of the Church, especially 
if they are young. By a sort of common 
consent we give them great license, not 
seeming to remember that a disrespect for 
right-doing not only weakens the character 
of the person himself, but may also defile 
those with whom he associates. For in- 
stance, a Christian parent who is careful 
about the company of his daughter might 
see no good reason to object to the visits 
of a young man (provided he made no 



40 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

profession of religion) who was a lover of 
the ballroom and of the theater, a moderate 
drinker and profane swearer, and even one 
who gambled a little occasionally when he 
went out to luncheon with a "few friends." 
A young man "of the world" might indulge 
in any or all of those habits, and yet rank 
as a first-class gentleman. But what if he 
professed Christianity and yet was addicted 
to such habits ? He would be regarded as 
an unsafe person to have the love and con- 
fidence of a chaste young woman. Now 
all this is equivalent to saying that out of 
the Church a person may do many ques- 
tionable things and yet not be questioned, 
while in the Church he will be expected, 
aye, required, to be upright in character. 

I think it is but just to say that Christians 
in general do not indorse the things I 
have named, even when practiced by ir- 
religious persons; but they say, "What 
can we do about it ? He does not belong 
to Church, hence we cannot exercise any 
disciplinary authority over him." But since 
those vices are ruinous even to those who 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 4 1 

may at first indulge in them but mod- 
erately, and since association begets as- 
similation, do not Christian parents and 
Christian people in general see the abso- 
lute, may I say awful, necessity of striving 
to keep those very young people within 
the restraining influences of the Church, 
to the end that those habits may never be 
formed ? But yet another reason for 
making an early decision. Habits once 
formed may never be overcome. There 
is a story of a young man who was a fam- 
ily favorite. He was permitted, and es- 
pecially by his over-indulgent mother, to 
have and to do anything his fancy de- 
sired. At last it became evident that he 
had entered fully and permanently upon a 
life of wretchedness and sin. All efforts 
to reform him proved futile. At last, in a 
drunken quarrel, he committed murder, 
for which crime he was tried, and sentenced 
to be hanged. During his confinement in 
the prison his almost heartbroken mother 
was permitted to visit him. When at length 
the time came for his execution, and she was 



42 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

bidding him the last affectionate good-by, he 
beckoned her to hold her head close to his 
face as if he would whisper something to 
her. When she did so, he, like an angry 
beast, caught her ear between his teeth, and 
severed it from her head, saying. "This is 
to enable you to remember that it is your 
fault that I am here. When I was young I 
was left without restraint, and here is the 
awful result." The time-honored ada^e 
that an ounce of prevention is better than a 
pound of cure should be a daily text for all 
who in any way have the care of children. 
Let the work of training begin in infancy ; 
that is, let the parent or guardian make 
it a business to observe all the evil ten- 
dencies of the child and correct them. But 
more than this, let positive instruction upon 
the subject of religion be given, till the child 
is old enough to make a choice for himself. 
No age can be fixed upon as the period of 
moral responsibility for all children. Some 
have a better understanding at six than 
others at twelve years. I would suggest 
that we deal with the child somewhat after 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 43 

the manner that Philip dealt with the Ethi- 
opian. When he understood what Philip 
taught, he said, " Here is water ; what hinders 
me from being baptized ? " The answer was, 
"If thou believest, thou mayest." And so 
I say, when the child is ready to accept 
Christ as his Saviour, permit him to do so, 
no matter what his age. I desire to give 
one more reason for making an early de- 
cision. By entering upon a life of sin, both 
the physical and moral strength of the child 
may become destroyed. As to the physi- 
cal, the body may by dissipation become 
so weakened, that even if the person were 
fortunate enough to reform and come in 
at the ninth or eleventh hour, he is in no 
condition to do the work of the Lord. 

His best days have been wasted ; he 
is now well-nigh a physical wreck. His 
strength and vigor are declining, and he 
now comes to offer to the Lord the rem- 
nant which he cannot even successfully use 
in the service of Satan. Then there is also 
the moral aspect. Granting that he is not 
a physical wreck, he has certainly to some 



44 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

extent weakened his moral nature. He is 
like a broken dish that has been mended, 
but yet has the mark upon it. And more 
than this, it is possible that he has formed 
habits that are destined to be a stumbling- 
block to him through life. It is no easy 
matter for one who has gone a long time 
in any given way to undergo such a thor- 
ough and complete reformation as that no 
trace of the old life will, at any time or 
under any circumstances, show itself. I 
find every reason for becoming a Christian 
early in life, but can see no advantage what- 
ever in delaying a decision. There is a 
greater risk in turning to the left for even 
a short space of time than there can be in 
the most feeble effort to turn to the right. 
All that is required of one is a decision 
which involves two things ; namely, an un- 
conditional surrender of himself to Christ, 
and a complete acceptance of •Him as his 
Saviour. Hunt out all the passages in the 
Bible which answer the question What must 
I do to be saved ? and you will find that 
but three words are employed : those three 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 45 

words occur at different places, and in 
slightly different relations. They are, 
Repent, Believe and be Baptized. Often 
"believe" occurs without any reference to 
the others, though they are logically in- 
cluded. Once (Acts ii. 38) the phrase is 
"Repent and be baptized;" but here also, 
I take it, faith is included, else obedience 
would not have been shown. The word 
"baptize" never stands alone as an answer 
to the question ; so we may sum this up : 

(a) Repentance {jieravota), change of 
mind or of purpose ; penitence implying 
sorrow for unbelief and sin, and a turning 
from them. 

(b) Believe (swreuw), to have faith; to 
put faith in ; to trust ; to confide. All this 
implies action, for an unwillingness to act 
upon faith is but to be faithless. 

(c) Be baptized (^Trr^w), to administer 
the rite of baptism in the Triune name. 



CHAPTER III. 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 



WHEN I began writing upon this 
subject I did not intend to discuss 
the mode of baptism, but in proceeding 
with the subject this phase of it naturally 
forces itself upon me. And as it may be 
of benefit to some of our younger mem- 
bers to know what the African Methodist 
Episcopal Church does teach concerning 
this matter, I think it will be well to take 
it up. First of all, I wish to call attention 
to the too frequent custom of saying that 
we christen our children as if we did 
not baptize them. In our Boqk of Dis- 
cipline, page 209, chapter iii, under the 
head of Special Directions, the following 
occurs : Let every adult person and the 
parent of every child to be baptized have 
(46) 






MODE OF BAPTISM. 47 

their choice either of immersion, sprink- 
ling or pouring. Notice, baptized, not 
christened, is the word employed. Then, 
on page 215, where the words used in 
baptism occur, we have the following: 
" N., I baptize thee in the name of the 
Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Ghost." Here again it is baptize, not 
christen. Webster's Dictionary inter- 
changes the word christen with the word 
baptize. I do not object to this; on the 
contrary, I think him quite correct. But, 
as many may be misled by the use of the 
word christen, and use it to the exclusion 
of the word baptize, it would be best for 
us who believe in baptism to use the word 
that is less likely to mislead. A glance at 
the history and use of the word is in place 
here. The word belongs to the New 
Testament and is found in the Latin, Greek 
and English versions. First of all, let me 
say that we do not deny that immersion is 
baptism, but we affirm that baptism, may 
be performed other than by immersion. 
As there is nothing so good in polemics 



48 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

as good authority, I shall here quote from 
the Greek Lexicon of Edward Robinson, 
D.D., of eighteenth century fame ; a grad- 
uate of Hamilton College, New York, 1816; 
instructor of Hebrew at Andover, 1823 ; 
published an edition of the Iliad ; went to 
Europe in 1826 and studied Hebrew under 
Gesenius at Halle, and history under Ne- 
ander ; was professor extraordinary at 
Andover of Biblical literature, 1830; trans- 
lated Buttman's Greek Grammar, 185 1 ; 
revised Newcome's Greek Harmony of the 
Gospels. In 1836 he published the Greek 
and English Lexicon from which I quote. 
Concerning the word paKTiqto, he says : 

"1. To dip in, to sink, to immerse. 

" 2. To wash, to lave, to cleanse by wash- 
ing ; to wash one's self, i. e. y one's hands 
or body ; to perform ablution. 

" 3. To baptize, to administer the rite of 
Baptism. 

"Note. — While in Greek writers, from 
Plato onward, fia-Kziqui is everywhere to sink 
to immerse, to overwhelm either wholly or 
partially, in Hellenistic usage, and espe- 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 49 

cially in reference to the Rite of Baptism, 
it would seem to have expressed not al- 
ways simply immersion, but the more gen- 
eral idea of ablution or affusion. This ap- 
pears from the following consideration : 
(a) The circumstances named in St. Luke 
xi. 38, compared with those in St. Mark 
vii. 2-4, where w-w is employed, imply, 
according to Oriental custom, a pouring 
of water on the hands. See in vi-u» and 
2 K. hi. 1 1 ; likewise the use of j3a-ri<Tfjj>c, 
St. Mark vii. 4-8, as also passages from 
Septuagint. 

"(d) In Acts ii. 41, three thousand are 
said to have been baptized at Jerusalem in 
one day, at the season of the Pentecost in 
June; and in Acts iv. 4 the same rite 
is necessarily implied in respect to five 
thousand more. Against the idea of full 
immersion in these cases there lies a diffi- 
culty, apparently insuperable, in the scar- 
city of water. There is in summer season 
no running stream in the vicinity of Jeru- 
salem except the mere rill of Siloam, a few 
rods in length ; and the city is and was 



50 BArriZED children. 

supplied with water from its cisterns and 
public reservoirs. (See Bibl. Res. in Pal- 
est., i, pp. 479-516.) 

"From neither of these sources could a 
supply have been well obtained for the 
immersion of 8,ooo persons. In the ear- 
liest Latin versions of the New Testament, 
as, for example, the Italia, which Augustine 
regarded as the best of all, and which goes 
back apparently to the second century and 
to usage connected with the Apostolic age, 
the Greek verb ^a-r^w is uniformally given 
in the Latin from baptizo, and is never 
translated by immergo or any like word, 
showing that there was something in the 
rite of Baptism to which immergo did not 
correspond. (See Blanchini Evangelia- 
rium quadruplex. ect. Rom., 1749.) The 
baptismal fonts still found among the ruins 
of the most ancient Greek churches in 
Palestine, as at Tekoa and Gophna, and 
going back apparently to very early times, 
are not large enough to admit of the bap- 
tism of adult persons by immersion, and 
were obviously never intended for that 
use." — Edw. Robinson. 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 5 1 

It seems useless to enter into a citation 
of facts that are at the command of any 
student of history to show that immersion 
was never the exclusive practice of the 
Christian Church or any branch of it for 
more than sixteen hundred years. How 
strange it would seem to indulge the belief 
that the Apostles, the immediate succes- 
sors of our Lord, and the " Fathers," the 
immediate successors of the Apostles, and 
all Christendom, should lose the door of 
entrance into the Church, and for nearly 
two thousand years come in some other 
way without discovering their mistake ! As 
Methodists, we are wont to lay more stress 
upon what the thing signifies than upon 
the mode of administering it. This idea of 
the subject is evidently in keeping with the 
teaching of John the Baptist, for he warned 
the Pharisees and Sadducees, when they 
came to his baptism, reminding them that 
they should bring forth fruits, meet for re- 
pentance ; i.e., show the reality of their re- 
pentance by forsaking their sins, and not 
to rely simply upon the ceremony; for, 



52 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

said he : " I indeed baptize you with water 
(etqueravotau) into repentance." In Acts 
xix. 4, St. Paul calls the baptism of John 
a baptism of repentance (Pamqfia, perovoca?). 
It was a public demonstration to the world 
that the person receiving it had renounced 
his sins and accepted Christ, and was there- 
fore a proper subject to receive the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost. It is an act of 
obedience, an outward sign ordained of 
God, and to reject it is to disobey. But 
no undue stress should be laid upon the 
mere mode of administering it. The sac- 
rament of baptism surely cannot be more 
sacred than that of the Holy Communion, 
and yet there is no controversy about the 
mode of administering this latter sacrament, 
although it is a fact, possibly a fact to be 
regretted, to say the least, that, in almost 
every religious sect, where the communion 
is given at all, it is by a slightly different 
mode. The thing agreed upon by all, how- 
ever, is that bread and wine are the proper 
articles to use. In like manner should it 
be in baptism : let water be used in the 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 53 

name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost; and, as no specific mode of 
administering is named in the Bible, let 
common sense and convenience dominate 
in settling this. 

There are scores of circumstances under 
which it would be impossible to baptize by 
immersion — as in time of war. Men who 
are wounded and nigh unto death may sur- 
render their hearts unto God and desire 
the Christian baptism, to be performed by 
the chaplain who is upon the spot for the 
purpose of administering to the spiritual 
wants of the soldiers — again, in cases of 
extreme illness, in which persons may desire 
baptism, but cannot be moved from their 
bed-chamber. The all-wise God, who or- 
dained the sacrament and demanded its 
observance, did not say repent, believe and 
be immersed, knowing that there would be 
cases where immersion would be impos- 
sible; hence He used a generic term. Now, 
returning to the main subject, whatever 
may be said about children becoming 
Christians, or however little we may do to 



54 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

encourage them, in spite of our negligence, 
there are children who are early drawn to 
the Christian life. It would seem harsh 
and unchristian-like to prohibit them. So, 
when they have given evidence of their 
sincerity, they are received on probation, 
just as older people are. Those who think 
it necessary to justify themselves for this 
action say "Well, after all, who can tell 
at what age the Lord may speak to children, 
even as He did to Samuel?" 

But why not be logical and make this 
principle a guide for our actions in all 
cases? 

There is nothing in the history of Sam- 
uel to warrant us in supposing that he was 
supernatural, and if there was, there have 
been scores and hundreds of similar cases 
both in ancient and modern times — not 
cases in which God spoke orally and liter- 
ally to a child, as in the case of Samuel, 
but where He called them by His Spirit in 
early youth, and in which their lives have 
been consistently Christian from youth to 
age. I have now in my mind as many as 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 55 

a half-dozen testimonies of this kind, and 
there may be hundreds of persons in pos- 
session of similar knowledge. This, I 
think, is sufficient to refute the supernatural 
idea. 

Again, prominently in Biblical history 
is the case of Moses. Nothing is said 
descriptive of him in infancy, beyond the 
fact that he was a goodly child. He was 
placed in his mother's care, and by her 
nursed and trained till he could be weaned 
and taken to his foster-mother, the Egyp- 
tian Princess, by whom he was educated 
at the Royal Court in all the wisdom of 
the Egyptians. Now, when we see him 
in after-life deliberately choosing the por- 
tion of a suffering and enslaved people, in 
spite of the kingly honors to which he was 
already heir, we at once agree with Black- 
wood that this fact was doubtless due to 
the early impressions made upon his plas- 
tic soul by his mother. But if, despite such 
abundant testimony to the contrary, some 
should still incline to call, at least, those 
Bible cases exceptional, then let us remem- 
ber that the Bible abounds with evidence 



56 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

that God's way of introducing great prin- 
ciples to mankind is by giving a solitary 
exhibition, and always but few at most. 
When He would show the exceeding sin- 
fulness of sin to the antediluvians, He 
brought a flood upon the earth. But 
when He threw the bow upon the clouds 
as an evidence that there shall be no more 
flood while the world stands, it was not an 
evidence that sin should, at any time, be 
less grievous to Him. When He would 
teach a lesson upon the awful conse- 
quences of disrespect for the aged, He 
permitted bears to come up out of the 
earth and slay the children who insulted 
Elisha. When He would show the sacred- 
ness of the priesthood, He slew Nadab 
and Abihu for offering strange fire. When 
He would show the great crime of stealing, 
He permitted the whole army of Israel to 
suffer defeat till Achan was discovered and 
punished. So in like manner can we say 
that when He would show it to be possible 
for a very small child to hear and under- 
stand His voice, He spoke to Samuel, who, 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 57 

in after-years, became the chief represent- 
ative of God among His people. None of 
the above cases were ever repeated in pre- 
cisely the same manner, but they set forth 
a great truth, which is as abiding as eternity. 
Inconsistency — as between what we say 
and what we do — is often shown in an- 
other respect. For instance, when chil- 
dren give themselves very early to the 
Lord, so early that we are in doubt as to 
whether or not they fully understand what 
they are doing, when we take them into 
the Church we should,*in keeping with our 
doubts, take extra precautions to have 
them nourished and trained until they be- 
come strong enough to resist evil. They 
are children, and they need milk ; they are 
weak, and need physical aid ; they are not 
skilled in spiritual warfare, hence they 
need to be guided and instructed to a 
greater degree than those of riper years. 
And herein lies a fatal mistake. We seem 
to have an idea that it is necessary for 
the child to wait till it is far enough 
advanced in knowledge to understand the 



58 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

plan of salvation before it attempts to be 
a Christian. We seem to lose sight of the 
idea of Christian nurture. Special pains 
should be taken with those who are inex- 
perienced to train them up into right ideas 
of Christian character. That is why the 
Church has been so careful to provide for 
special work in this direction, as I have 
elsewhere pointed out. With the wisest 
and most experienced Christians, Chris- 
tian character is a thing of growth, and the 
sooner it is begun the better it is for the 
Christian himself. • 

In the family circle our children are con- 
stantly doing things peculiar to childhood 
that would be inexcusable in older per- 
sons ; but we do not think of saying that 
they are irredeemably lost as to good be- 
havior, and so we continue the work of 
correcting and instructing. In like man- 
ner should we treat them in the spiritual 
household, the Church. When we dis- 
cover mistakes that they have made owing 
to their inexperience and their childlike 
thoughtlessness, we should not begin to 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 59 

say, " Yes, I knew you had no religion, you 
are a pretty Christian;" but, like true 
Christian guardians, we should all the 
more instruct them and watch over them 
in love. If wrong-doing after conversion 
is to be taken as an evidence that the con- 
version was not genuine, then may we all 
hide our faces and flee from the presence 
of the Lord. 

Finally, duty is ours, and consequences 
belong to the Lord. 

As in the Jewish Church children were 
included in the covenant under the law, 
and as in the Christian Church they are 
also included in the covenant of grace, 
and as both reason and experience justify 
the wisdom of such a course, let us 
as Christians lose no time, spare no en- 
deavor to lead the little ones in their youth 
to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the 
sin of the world. 

Now, in answer to the question What 
relation do baptized children sustain to the 
Church ? they are inseparably a part of it. 
In a word, they sustain the same relation" 



60 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

to the Church as such, that they sustain to 
the family as such. No one ever thinks 
of regarding small children as being other 
than legitimate members of the household, 
or of giving them an inferior place therein. 
To the contrary, they are accorded all the 
rights and privileges of older members, 
according to their ability to appropriate 
them. And in case of making a will, all 
the children are remembered, no matter 
what their age. Guardians are appointed 
for such as are under age, to see that no 
advantage is taken of them, and that they 
are not deprived of their legal share of 
the inheritance. And so with children of 
the Church. They are a part of the house- 
hold of God, and no one has a riorht to dis- 
possess them. Christ, and not the Church, 
made the provision for them, and all Church 
legislation against them is illegal and un- 
christian. The exercise of guardianship 
over them, till they can act for themselves, 
is not discretionary with their parents and 
the Church, but it is a sacred obligation. 
If they are ever disinherited, they must do 



MODE OF BAPTISM. 6 1 

it themselves. They are a part and parcel 
of the Church which Christ purchased with 
His own blood, and will so remain till, by 
their own will, they make choice of another 
lot. This general definition will apply to 
all children whether baptized or not; but 
children baptized in a particular Church 
are ceremonially made members of that 
Church, and should be so regarded and so 
treated. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CONDITION AND MODE OF RECEIVING 
CHILDREN INTO FULL MEMBERSHIP. 



ONE of the objections frequently made 
to infant Baptism, and also to child- 
hood Christianity, is that our Lord says, 
" He that believeth and is baptized shall 
be saved." The argument based upon 
these words of our Lord is this : children 
cannot believe; therefore, they cannot com- 
ply with the above condition. Any one 
who has studied child-nature, child-disposi- 
tion, with any degree of accuracy, will dis- 
cover the weakness of this position. If 
there is any one thing a child can do, it is 
to believe — yes, to confide in. The belief 
of a child amounts to faith, sure enough. 
It not only believes, but it trusts ; and that 
is what adults so often fail to do. Perhaps 
(62) 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 63 

this, more than anything else, is what our 
Lord means when He says. • Except ye be 
converted and become as a little chile — 
not as a child in understanding, but as a 
child in simple faith — a faith that does not 
even question His word. Majority of years 
and maturity of judgment often produce a 
state of mind that does not aid one in the 
attainment of that faidi which asks no ques- 
tions. Just at this point the agnostic and 
the Christian part company. The agnostic 
takes the position that it is wrong for a man 
to say that he is certain of the obje: 
truth of any proposition, unless he can pro- 
duce evidence which logically justifies that 
certainty* ; the Christian takes the ground 
drat there are propositions which should be 
accepted as worthy of belief, widiout logi- 
callv satisfactory evidence such as the ae- 
nostic demands : that revelation is above 
n. and in it will be found many things 
that cannot be understood by the finite, yet 
must be accepted in order to please God. 
I think I have fairly stated the points of 
issue between the Christian and the aenos- 



64 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

tic. It is as important for the Christian to 
be consistent as it is for others, and, like 
others, they weaken their case to the extent 
that they are inconsistent. I suppose it 
would be difficult to find any one who will 
deny that there are things in the Christian 
code which cannot be understood even by 
mature minds ; and yet, this failure to un- 
derstand certain things does not disqualify 
one for membership in the Christian 
Church. Things being thus, why should it 
be regarded as intolerable for a child to be 
granted Christian privileges in the Church, 
simply because he cannot give a scientific 
answer to the question what is faith ? 
Should we, as Christians, bind upon our 
children burdens which we acknowledge 
we cannot bear? The danger of becom- 
ing so critical and skeptical as not to be- 
lieve anything for which a scientific reason 
cannot be given is the danger of every 
age, and may we not say especially of the 
present age ? 

If we, as Christians, really believe that 
the Bible is true, there certainly can be no 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 65 

objection to inducing our children to accept 
its teachings, even before they can give a 
good reason why. But there are also 
other important considerations ; though 
children may be kept out of church their 
minds are not kept blank upon other mat- 
ters. There is always something to occupy 
them. If good impressions are not made, 
surely bad ones will be. Their characters 
are being formed, and will take this or 
that shape, according to their surroundings. 
But why multiply words ? If Christians 
believe that the Bible offers the only way 
of salvation, it is their indispensable duty 
to do all that is in their power to have their 
children begin life in that only true way. 

We are constantly confronted with the 
argument that children cannot be trained 
into Christianity ; that to hold this doctrine 
is to oppose conversion. Do persons who 
hold this position forget that the very word 
of God upon which they base their argu- 
ment says, " Train up a child when it is 
young in the way that you would have it 
go?" This very word "train," so fre- 



66 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

quently and persistently objected to by 
those who oppose childhood Christianity, 
is the very word that is employed by the 
wise man, and is indeed a significant word. 
It is not simply to teach. Precept might be 
given till it became monotonous. Nor is 
it simply the time-honored custom of hav- 
ing him say prayers before going to 
bed ; but it is to "train." It may, however, 
be suggestive to the reader to call atten- 
tion in this connection to the difference be- 
tween the words teach and train. Teach: 
to show; to impart the knowledge of; to 
give intelligence concerning ; to impart, as 
knowledge before unknown, or as rules 
for practice ; to inculcate as true or impor- 
tant ; to exhibit impressively; to tell. Other 
kindred meanings belong to this word, but 
they are all in the line of "giving instruc- 
tion!' Train : to draw along ; to trail ; to 
draw by persuasion, artifice and the like ; 
to entice ; to teach and form by practice ; 
to exercise ; to discipline ; as, to train sol- 
diers to the use of arms ; to break, tame 
and accustom to draw, as oxen. It can be 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 6j 

seen at a glance that the important differ- 
ence between those words is in the one — 
to teach — an announcement is made ; not 
necessarily more than this ; while in the 
other — to train — the person addressed is 
put into action, and actually drilled. Now, 
study the word in its Scriptural relation, and 
it will be found to imply not simply Chris- 
tian instruction, but Christian practice. 

In discussing a question so important as 
this — a question which involves the salva- 
tion of souls — much care should be had in 
stating positions and in interpreting state- 
ments. If we are understood to be intro- 
ducing a new doctrine — a doctrine that 
means to do away with conversion and re- 
generation — then we are greatly misunder- 
stood. The position we do take is this : 
the Bible does not teach, either directly 
or by inference, that a probationary period 
of willful sinning must necessarily precede 
regeneration ; or, to put it in other words, 
the Bible does not teach that an individual 
must reach the years of maturity and enter 
from choice upon a life of sin in order to 



68 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

give " regeneration " something to act 
upon. If it is claimed that we draw the 
lines too closely when we expect a child 
to pass from moral irresponsibility to moral 
responsibility, without committing an actual 
sin, we admit that this may be true, and, 
as a matter of fact, this is not our position. 
This brief space — if we may so put it — be- 
tween the time that moral responsibility is 
reached and an active Christian life is 
entered upon, together with the " sinful 
nature" of the child, affords abundant op- 
portunity for regeneration. The position 
we take is this : it is possible to so train 
a child in the ways of right living that, 
when the period of moral responsibility is 
reached, he will readily, and from choice, 
make choice of a Christian life, and so 
practically avoid joining himself to the 
world to live a life of sin. But how- 
ever this may be, we claim that it is the 
indispensable duty of the Christian parent 
and the Christian Church to labor to this 
end ; if, despite these efforts, the child goes 
astray, his blood be upon his own head. 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 69 

Concerning conversion it is well to dis- 
tinguish between this and regeneration. 
Conversion may be called a purely mental 
process, and is possible only for persons 
who have a normal intellect. We never 
talk to idiots about being converted ; we 
leave their case entirely to Christ and the 
Atonement. But we do talk of conversion 
to persons to whose understanding and 
reason we can appeal. We ask them to 
consider the matter for themselves. We 
persuade them to accept Christ, and we 
hold them responsible for failing to do so ; 
if it were something which they could not 
do, they could not consistently be held re- 
sponsible. This preparatory work is what 
is meant by conversion ; it is a change of 
desire, of purpose, of life. Quite different 
is the work of regeneration. This divine 
mystery, this process which makes one a 
"new creation," belongs entirely to God's 
part of the contract, and is never done 
without the consent of the individual for 
whom it is done. It is our duty to lead 
the children up to the point of making the 



70 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

choice; and when this they do, God will as 
readily perform the work of grace in their 
hearts as He would had they first entered 
upon an active life of sin, and afterward 
turned to Him. Now you see, dear reader, 
that we agree perfectly concerning the 
spiritual work which must be done for every 
one who is made a fit subject for the king- 
dom of heaven ; but I do not, and never 
shall grant, that this spiritual work can 
better be done if the devil is given a hand 
in it. 

Many children come to the years of 
moral responsibility with a decided leaning 
toward Christianity, but are finally led 
astray for the want of proper encourage- 
ment or definite guidance at this critical 
and important period. However carefully 
children have been trained in morals and 
religion, they are not Church members prac- 
tically until they have been regularly in- 
ducted into the Church. Up to this point 
the parent or guardian has been largely, 
indeed chiefly, the responsible person ; but 
now the chief responsibility must be placed 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. J I 

upon the child himself. The Church, in its 
organized capacity, affords the needed op- 
portunity for placing definite responsibili- 
ties upon an individual. A person may 
have known the Scriptures from childhood, 
like Timothy, but a Paul is needed to lead 
him into the work ; or, like the rich young 
ruler, he maybe able to say, "All these 
things have I kept from my youth up," and 
still he may lack that which is necessary to 
the perfecting of a Christian life. The 
young ruler was all right as to morals, and 
this constituted a large portion of Chris- 
tian practice ; but when he was brought, 
for the first time, face to face with the per- 
sonal Christ, he was astonished to learn 
that with such a stock on hand he should 
yet fall so far short of being a perfect 
Christian. 

There must be a period in Christian ex- 
perience when a personal and conscious 
consecration is made. This consecration 
must have in it the condition of willing- 
obedience. Much of the goodness of a 
child who is brought up virtuously is nega- 



72 BAPTIZED CHILDREN*. 

tive goodness ; that is to say, the child is 
not good from having made an intelligent 
choice of goodness, but from having never 
been brought into contact with evil in a 
sense that would oblige him to make the 
choice between good and evil. The moral 
condition and the religious tendency of a 
child, up to a certain period, are more the 
result of restraint and direction from others 
than of a personal choice of his own. And 
thus it follows that however correct in 
morals the child finds himself when he 
reaches the years of accountability, he must 
then make choice of what his future life 
shall be. The life previous to this period 
has been according to the decision of an- 
other ; but henceforth it must be accord- 
ing to the decision of himself. With all 
the weight of influence on the side of right, 
it will be comparatively easy to secure a 
decision on this side ; but unless the claim 
is forced, and a decision demanded at the 
proper time, all the benefits of previous 
training may be lost. It is, therefore, of 
the greatest importance that the Christian 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 73 

Church should provide a means, an ordi- 
nance, by which her children shall be given 
an opportunity to say whether or not they 
will voluntarily assume the obligations that 
were taken for them by their parents or 
sponsors. 

Such a provision is as necessary as the 
work of early training. Indeed, unless 
this early training is a means which looks 
forward to a definite end, it matters but 
little whether or not it is performed. Just 
what this service or ordinance shall be 
called is not of vital importance. But in 
order to be definite, and to avoid placing the 
responsibility upon another, I would sug- 
gest that the A. M. E. Church adopt the 
confirmation service of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church as the best and most authori- 
tative means of inducting our children into 
the Church, after the proper preparation 
has been made, both by their parents and 
by themselves. 

It may be well to give some reasons why 
I suggest the adoption of this particular 
system, which reasons I shall give as fol- 
lows : 



74 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

i. Because the Scriptures teach it, and it 
was practiced by the apostles. Concern- 
ing the two sacraments, viz., Baptism and 
the Lord's Supper, we have a definite 
command ; concerning Confirmation, we 
have not a command in so many words 
from the Lord ; but the very same is true 
of the consecration of bishops, the ordina- 
tion of priests and deacons, and the rite 
of Christian marriage ; yet who among us 
would for a moment question the propriety 
of any of these ? 

The Scriptures tell us that during the 
forty days of our Lord on earth, after the 
resurrection, He spoke to the apostles 
concerning things pertaining to the king- 
dom of God. He had already promised 
them that when the Comforter came He 
would bring to their remembrance all things 
whatsoever He had commanded them. 
Now, after the ascension, the apostles 
waited at Jerusalem till the Holy Ghost 
came down upon them, and immediately 
thereafter they began their work. As many 
as professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 
were baptized and received into the Church. 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. 75 

The people of Samaria accepted the Gos- 
pel preached to them by Philip, the deacon, 
and were baptized, which, when the apostles 
at Jerusalem heard, they sent Peter and 
John, who went and laid their hands on 
them, and they received the Holy Ghost 
(Acts viii. 14-17). 

When our Lord took the little children 
in His arms, He laid His hands upon them 
and blessed them. No doubt this was a 
foreshadowing of one of the ceremonies of 
the Church which He was to establish on 
the day of Pentecost, for thereafter we find 
the apostles ministering this rite to the 
newly-baptized converts. 

When Paul visited Ephesus he found 
there certain disciples, and he asked if they 
received the Holy Ghost when they became 
believers. It was equivalent to asking 
them if they had been received into the 
communion of the Church. Finding that 
they had not received Christian baptism at 
all, he first baptized them, and then laid 
his hands on them. 

In Hebrews, vi. 1 , 2, we find an enumera- 



76 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

tion of the u first principles" — -<»-> '^ fl />*9« 
too zpurrou Xoyov — and among those first 
principles here named is the laying on of 
hands. Bishop Hall, in his " Chirothesis," 
says : " Dare any Christian to presume to 
say that the apostle, the great and wise 
master-builder, mistook the foundation 
whereon he builded ? or dare any pre- 
sumptuous soul single this one article from 
the rest as merely temporary, when all the 
rest are granted to be of eternal use ?" 

2. It was the practice of the primitive 
Church. 

Tertullian says : "After coming out from 
the bath we are anointed with sacred unc- 
tion ; then the hand is laid upon us for 
the benediction." 

Referring to the Samaritans who were 
confirmed by St. Peter and St. John, St. 
Cyprian says, ''Which is also now our 
custom." 

Firmilliam of Cesarea speaks of baptiz- 
ing, laying on of hands and ordination. 

Theodoret, commenting on Hebrews, 
vi. 2, says: ''Those who believe come to 



FULL MEMBERSHIP. J J 

Divine Baptism, and by the sacerdotal hand 
receive the grace of the Spirit." 

The dates to which these references 
belong are from 192 to 450. So much 
for primitive custom. 

3. The Greek, the Roman, the Anglican, 
the German Reformed and the Lutheran 
Churches have always practiced it, and 
now practice it. These churches represent 
a communion of four hundred million souls, 
and what church historian upon the face of 
the earth can pronounce them unchristian 
or their orders and rites invalid ? 

4. I advocate it because we have not 
substituted anything in its place, and it is, 
to say the least, a very dangerous thing to 
allow our children and young people to 
pass from the Church into the world with- 
out even an attempt in any kind of syste- 
matic way to retain them in the Church. 

To recapitulate : I recommend confirma- 
tion — 

(a) Because the Scripture teaches it, and 
the apostles practiced it. 

(b) Because the primitive Church held 
to it. 



78 BAPTIZED CHILDREN. 

0) Because the Greek, Roman, Angli- 
can, German Reformed and Lutheran 
Churches have always had it. 

(d) Because we need it, or something in 
its place, and we have neither. 

When the child has been brought into 
the fold, then let it be properly nurtured, 
and gently and wisely led along, till it is 
able to stand alone, and take its part in the 
manifold duties that are incumbent upon a 
Christian life. 



ADDENDA. 



AS the principal part of the work of 
preparing children for a Christian 
life, so far as the Church is concerned, is 
done in the Sunday-school, I think it ad- 
visable to append a few thoughts concerning 
this important department of church work. 

ORIGIN. 

The earliest record that we have seen 
upon the Sabbath-school subject dates as 
far back as the sixteenth century, and is 
placed to the credit of Saint Charles Bor- 
romeo. Another record is made a hundred 
years later of the efforts of Rev. Joseph 
Alleine, of Taunton, to gather children to- 
gether on the Lord's day for instruction. 
Then, subsequent to those dates, mention 
is made of several persons visiting, clothing 
and instructing the children of the poor, 

(79) 



80 ADDENDA. 

selecting the Sabbath as the most propitious 
time for the work. 

But it was not till the period of 1 778— 
1783 that the effort was so organized as to 
become a distinct department of Christian 
work, and be lifted from local obscurity to 
national repute. Robert Raikes, who gave 
this impetus to the Sunday-school idea, 
bears, as he well deserves, the honored 
name of founder. He was an Englishman 
by birth and education ; born in Gloucester, 
England, on the 14th day of September, 
1735. Mr. Raikes was a man eminently 
fitted for the exalted position of leader in 
this new field of Christian work ; a man of 
great business ability, honest and charita- 
ble, public-spirited and philanthropic. His 
charity was first shown to the world by his 
attention to the poor and imprisoned of his 
district. When I was " naked ye clothed 
me : sick and in prison ye visited me." 

Engaged in this work of love the founder 
was impressed with the great need of an 
organized and well regulated means of 
reaching the youth in time to save them 



DESIGN. 8 1 

from sin and ruin, from poverty and dis- 
grace. On the 3d day of November, 1783, 
Mr. Raikes published in his paper, The 
Gloucester Jotwnal, and gave to the world 
for the first time his idea of the Sunday- 
school System. The work was of God ; 
and though, like the grain of mustard-seed, 
small at first, yet, like the cedar of Leba- 
non, it has grown, spreading its branches 
outward and upward, growing in power 
and influence with each century, period 
and decade, and will continue to grow till 
the world is filled with its sanctifying influ- 
ences, and heaven made to re-echo with 
its songs of praise. 

DESIGN. 

There are different kinds of knowledge 
to be obtained in this world. Man himself, 
the heavens above, the earth beneath, the 
world of waters and all that they contain 
are exhaustless storehouses of truth, won- 
der and beauty. The study of these sub- 
jects is useful and honorable, and they 
should not be neglected ; but the study of 



82 ADDENDA. 

God Himself, as revealed in His word, and 
our relations to Him, is first in the order of 
importance and should be made first in 
order of time. This knowledge is as much 
higher than earthly knowledge as the 
heavens are higher than the earth, and as 
much more important as the soul is more 
important than the body. Listen : "Thus 
saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory 
in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man 
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory 
in his riches : but let him that glorieth glory 
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth 
me, that I am the Lord which exercise 
loving kindness, judgment and righteous- 
ness in the earth ; for in these things I 
delight, saith the Lord." It is the work of 
the Sunday-school to study those subjects 
which do not begin and end with this world, 
but which reach beyond time into eternity. 
Without a knowledge of God, man is like 
a ship at sea without a compass or rudder. 
Amid the storms of earthly passion, and 
the whirl of temptation, his precious soul 
may, at any moment, be dashed to pieces. 



DESIGN. 8$ 

The Sabbath-school labors to lay a moral 
foundation, broad and wide ; while its doors 
are open to all ages, from the child of three 
summers to the hoary head, it deals especi- 
ally with the young, realizing the fact that 
prevention is better than cure. Untruth- 
fulness, dishonesty, impurity, intemperance 
and other vices are lying in wait to seize 
upon the souls of our innocent ones ; hence 
they must be guarded by parental vigilance 
and religious instruction. 

Children, from their very innocence and 
inexperience, are apt to fall into snares ; 
hence childhood is the age to watch with 
the greatest vigilance. It is a saying, as 
true as it is old, that " as the twig is bent, 
the tree is inclined." 

Would we have our children form healthy 
moral habits, we must begin the work of 
training when the character can be easily 
impressed with truth. 

But where should this work be done ? 
The proper place for it to begin is in the 
family circle. But shall not the Church 
supplement the work of the home, since it 



84 ADDENDA. 

requires the combined effort of the Chris- 
tian home and Christian Church to coun- 
teract the inducements offered by the world 
to lead the young astray? Moreover, 
parents often for want of time are unable 
to give the necessary attention to this work; 
nor have they always the facilities for train- 
ing the youthful mind. Many parents have 
not the ability to teach the mysterious truths 
of the Bible like those who make it their 
especial work. Again, we must remember 
how many children there are whose parents 
are not Christians, and who, consequently, 
cannot feel the serious responsibility which 
rests upon them to lead their little ones 
early to Christ. 

O Christians ! it is our sacred duty to 
see that these children are led into the fold 
of Christ. The Sabbath-school is to them 
their only church ; indeed, the Sabbath- 
school is the children's church. There 
they are taught to read the Bible, to sing 
and pray; thus they often become a means 
of grace to their unconverted parents ; for 
where the lamb goes the old sheep is sure 



DESIGN. 85 

to follow. The Sabbath-school undertakes 
to do this work in preference to the church 
proper, because the regular pulpit service, 
the prayer and experience meetings are 
not adapted to the child's limited under- 
standing. 

We take our children to the church ; this 
is right ; for by so doing, they learn to love 
and respect the place, and they are im- 
pressed with the order and solemnity of 
the sanctuary; but they cannot take part 
in the services as in the Sabbath-school, 
where everything is brought down to their 
comprehension. 

Much has been said concerning the a^e 
at which children become accountable for 
their acts. Some say at seven years, others 
say at twelve. I don't believe that any age 
can be settled upon that would apply to all 
children. Some know more at seven years 
than others do at twelve. The fact is this : 
it is our duty to begin the work of spiritual 
training as soon as the child can under- 
stand what it is that you are teaching ; 
when it is old enough to learn the names 



86 ADDENDA. 

of persons and places, it is old enough to 
learn the name of Jesus. 

I knew a young girl of eleven years who 
died from our Sabbath-school. She had 
never made profession of religion ; but she 
had been taught to love Jesus, and that He 
loved her. So, in her death's sickness, 
though but a child, she believed on the 
Saviour with faith unfeigned, and calmly 
gave up her life to Him whom she had 
been taught to love ; and, instead of leav- 
ing her parents in heaviness and doubt, 
she gave them the blessed assurance that 
she enjoyed great peace. I knew another 
who, at the age of seven years, visited me, 
as her pastor, at a time when I was sick in 
bed. She bowed at my bedside, and, with 
the simplicity of a child, asked the Lord in 
her prayer to make me well. There are 
many persons living to-day, advanced in 
years, holy in life and ripe in Christian 
experience, who date their conversion from 
childhood. 

We all know that evil, like weeds, comes 
voluntarily ; while good, like grain, must 



DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 87 

be sown and cultivated. So the Sabbath- 
school proposes to sow the seed of right- 
eousness early, that it may have fair play in 
the child's character before it is irredeem- 
ably overgrown and poisoned by the weeds 
of sin. There are two ways of keeping a 
field clear of weeds — one by pulling them up, 
and the other by sowing grain in the field. 
For such work ''the harvest truly is 
plenteous and the laborers few ; pray ye 
therefore the Lord of the harvest that He 
may send forth laborers into His harvest." 

THE DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS OF 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL SUPERINTEND- 
ENTS AND TEACHERS. 

What is a Sunday-school ? 

It is a school held upon the Sabbath- 
day, for the study of the Bible and for 
moral and religious instruction. Its pupils 
may be young, middle-aged, or old, but it 
is intended especially for the training of the 
young. A Christian Sabbath-school is one 
that teaches the doctrines of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ as given in the Bible. 



88 ADDENDA. 

What should be the duty and qualifica- 
tions of those who teach and of those who 
superintend such a school ? 

/. The Teacher. 

He should be a Christian, not nominally, 
not theoretically, but one who has experi- 
enced a change of heart (St. John iii. 3). 
For only such a person can properly ap- 
preciate the infinite importance of the truths 
which he is teaching. As a Christian, he 
must be pious and consistent; as an officer, 
prompt and reliable ; as a man, kind and 
lovable. He should possess a fair amount 
of acquired ability and should be a good 
reader. To read the Bible correctly is the 
first step toward teaching it, and to under- 
stand the subject to be taught is a necessity 
for all successful teachers. But to read 
the Bible correctly is not only to pronounce 
the words as they should be, and to give 
proper attention to emphasis and inflec- 
tions, but it is to read with that deep and 
serious sense of what the words mean, 
which may be called reading with the spirit 



DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 89 

and with the understanding. It- is very 
important also that the teacher should 
have the gift of imparting his knowledge 
to others. Many learned persons have 
failed as teachers because they did not 
possess this talent. 

We deem the foregoing qualifications 
necessary for a Sabbath-school teacher, 
because his work is not temporal, but 
spiritual ; therefore, secular knowledge 
alone will not fit him for this work. Again, 
child-nature is tender and plastic, and chil- 
dren are imitative, especially of their 
teachers and of those who are their guides; 
hence the character and influence of the 
teachers should be such as will reach the 
hearts of their pupils and will impress them 
for good. An irreligious and worldly- 
minded teacher would doubtless have as 
much influence upon his pupils as would 
the most careful Christian ; but how dif- 
ferent would this influence be ! Not 
more different are the effects of light and 
darkness. Childhood is the time when 
lasting impressions are made ; when habits 



90 ADDENDA. 

are formed which, in all probability, will 
follow the child through life, controlling, 
correcting and lifting him up, or enslaving, 
debasing and dragging him down ; there- 
fore too much care cannot be exercised 
with respect to a child's early religious 
teachings. 

Like a pastor, the Sabbath-school teacher 
should know somewhat of the daily life and 
home surroundings of his pupils ; where 
they live, how they live, and what manner 
of company they keep. The work of one 
day, the Sabbath, may prove quite insuffi- 
cient to counterbalance the doings and in- 
fluences of six days. 

The failure of good impressions, as well 
as the absence of conversions, may often 
be traced to the counteracting influences of 
the child's everyday surroundings. There- 
fore, the Sabbath-school teacher should, as 
nearly as it is possible, keep in sight of his 
class, that he may exert a constant influence 
over his children. 



DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 9 1 

II. The Superintendent. 

He should possess all the qualifications 
of a first-class teacher, and more ; for the 
superintendent is a teacher promoted, just 
as a general is a promoted soldier, or a 
soldier of higher official rank. He must 
be a competent teacher, because he is to 
have charge of the weekly teachers' meet- 
ings, and must be able to instruct his 
teachers, whenever it is necessary, in the 
lesson's which they are to impart. To un- 
derstand and to explain the Holy Scrip- 
tures, we must understand Bible Historv 
also its geography and biography. In all 
of these the superintendent must be well 
informed in order that he may not only 
train his teachers and arrange their work, 
but that he may interest them and inspire 
them in the truths which they are to teach. 

He must be a good governor. " Order 
is heaven's first law," says Pope ; and it 
is the first law of every well-regulated 
Sabbath-school. Certainly nothing could 
be more damaging to a school than a want 
of system, or confusion and division, and 



92 ADDENDA. 

nothing more sure to defeat its objects. 
The superintendent, at the head of his 
board of officers and teachers, must see 
that all are working together in harmony 
for the common welfare of the school. To 
do this is often a difficult task, and it will 
require all the tact and governing ability 
of the superintendent to secure it. He 
should possess originality. However much 
general knowledge of his work he may 
have, there will often be need of measures 
to meet certain conditions of his individual 
school ; those needs he must be able to 
see quickly, and equally as quickly must 
he be able to invent and formulate means 
to meet them. 

In carrying out his original plans, as well 
as in managing the routine work of the 
school, the superintendent will fail unless 
he is a man of good executive ability. A 
man may succeed admirably in forming a 
mind-picture, and yet be unable to develop 
his ideas and reduce them to practice. 

The good judgment of the superintend- 
ent will so often be in demand that it is 



DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 93 

difficult to find the place where it is not 
needed. In selecting and situating his 
teachers the best of judgment will be re- 
quired. A teacher who might be a perfect 
success with a "Bible class may utterly fail 
in the infant department ; hence, as the 
success of the school depends largely upon 
the fitness of the teachers for their respect- 
ive positions, much care should be had in 
their selection and appointment. 

The superintendent must not be skepti- 
cal. The Christian Sabbath-school must 
be headed by, and imbued with, the spirit 
of one who is sound in orthodox theology. 
If the Sabbath-school does its work well, it 
will send out its pupils with settled convic- 
tions of truth ; and if that truth be error, 
great is the error. In the selection of 
Sabbath-school helps and libraries the su- 
perintendent should see that nothing unfit 
is used. 

How many young people have been led 
astray and their future usefulness destroyed 
by reading sensational stories and books 
of fiction ! We must place in our libraries 



94 ADDENDA. 

books on solid and practical subjects for 
our young men and women, and picture- 
books with stories of the honest and truth- 
ful lives of many who have walked the 
earth and have now passed to their reward. 
Have a competent librarian who will take 
proper care of the books, and see that they 
are not lost. When they become worn 
out or lose pages, lay them aside to be re- 
bound, or fill their places with others. 

Supply the school with maps on the 
Bible lands ; with blackboards ; with Bible 
dictionaries and reference books for the 
use of teachers. Have spelling books for 
persons who are willing to come to school, 
but cannot read. Persons who are too old 
to attend the day-schools should be put 
into a class by themselves and given a 
faithful teacher. 

Next, we want music — instrumental and 
vocal. Music has its charms for both old 
and young. It has often been a question 
in my mind by what means the more people 
were led to Christ, by the preaching of 
Moody or by the singing of Sankey. Sing- 



DUTY A>~D QUALIFICATIONS. 95 

ing is attractive : first, because it is a sign 
of good humor : we seldom, if ever, feel 
like singing if we are angry ; but the angry 
heart is often made glad by sweet music, 
as in the case of Saul and David. To hear 
a multitude of infant voices lifted up to 
heaven, chanting the praises of God, is 
like an angelic choir. 

To furnish a school with the necessary 
appliances will cost something ; but if you 
would have a profitable school you must 
spend something. Even* school is not 
able to secure at once all that is necessary 
to a perfect outfit ; but no school should be 
afraid to spend money so as to come as 
near to it as possible. 

The supplies must be abundant, varied, 
of the best kind and frequently renewed ; 
therefore the superintendent must be a 
good financier, for he must know how to 
raise money and how to spend it to the 
advantage. If the money management 
is not good the school will become bankrupt 

Loyalty to one's church is a quality of 
no little importance to a superintendent ; 



96 ADDENDA. 

he is molding the future Church ; and if he 
himself loves and respects the laws and 
government of the church of his choice, 
those who are being trained at his hand 
will partake of his spirit, and this will fit 
them for their future responsibilities. There 
must be no discord between the Church 
and Sabbath-school ; their relation is that 
of mother and daughter ; and to insure 
harmony between them, loyal persons 
must fill all important posts. 

Now the thoughtful reader, as he peruses 
these pages, may exclaim, " O ! that I were 
such a teacher, or such a superintendent !" 
Why not become such ? Are you a Chris- 
tian ? If not, " Seek first the kingdom of 
God and His righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you." But an- 
other may say, " I have long since become 
a Christian, but have had no educational 
advantages ; so I find it very difficult to 
interest and impress my pupils as I should 
like to do." To such an one I say, look 
about you, treasure your spare moments, 
seize every opportunity of improvement, 



DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. gj 

and you will soon be astonished at your 
own progress. Elihu Burritt, the Connec- 
ticut blacksmith, who became an eminent 
scholar and the master of fifty languages, 
is an illustrious example of what a person 
may accomplish by his own unaided efforts. 
In this enlightened and progressive age, 
when books, newspapers, magazines and 
educational helps of every kind, both secu- 
lar and religious, can be had almost for 
the asking, no one need be ignorant. Take 
any great painter or sculptor who has risen 
to eminence, like Michael Angelo, and con- 
sider how much pains and labor were re- 
quired before he could express upon can- 
vas or in marble the ideal of his mind ; and 
surely the Sabbath-school teacher, who 
labors upon the imperishable material of 
an immortal soul, should think no sacrifice 
too great, no toil too laborious, to develop 
all its grace and beauty. O ! that the en- 
lightening influences of the Holy Spirit may 
direct our teachings and bless our work ! 



98 ADDENDA. 

HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. 

One of the barriers to successful Sab- 
bath-school work is the want of time 
to do it in. In Sabbath-school gatherings 
we have often heard this spoken of as " one 
of our discouragements." In conversation 
with individuals who are interested in the 
work of training the young we have heard 
the same complaint. The cause is not that 
any church or pastor — so far as we have 
been able to learn — is opposed to the work 
of the Sabbath-school, but that many are 
unwilling to give entirely one of the three 
regular church services, and let the time 
be used exclusively for Sabbath-school 
work. The prevailing custom has been 
the preaching of three sermons on Sab- 
bath, viz., morning, afternoon and night, 
with a brief session of Sabbath-school in- 
terjected somewhere between the regular 
services. Now, the friends of the Sabbath- 
school cause come asking for the time of 
one of those services, and as the best time 
to gather the children, select the afternoon. 



HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. 99 

Should the request be granted ? It should, 
provided it can be shown that by doing so 
more good for the cause of Christianity 
can be accomplished. Which, then, is the 
more productive of intelligent and practical 
Christians — the preaching of three sermons 
every Sabbath, or the preaching of the 
Gospel morning and night, and devoting 
the afternoon of every Sabbath to Bible 
classes for the old and the young to study 
the word of God by system ? 

/. The Negative. — Concerning the preach- 
ing of three sermons every Sabbath, it has 
been said by wise and experienced theo- 
logians that a man cannot prepare and 
deliver that number in such a manner as 
to properly instruct and edify his hearers. 
If this be true, then it follows that in such 
a case the sermons would come short in 
their first and most important objects. 
Then, to establish a three sermon system 
offers a temptation rarely overcome — to 
place incompetent persons in the pulpit. 
In either of the foregoing cases there is 



IOO ADDENDA. 

danger of reducing the service of preaching 
to a mere formality. 

When the pulpit is not effectual in 
awakening sinners and enlightening and 
strengthening Christians, it loses its power 
for good. Again, granting that the people 
could be furnished with three well-prepared 
sermons each Sabbath, the valid objection 
follows that so much matter could not be 
digested in a day. There is a striking 
analogy between the way the body is fed 
and the way the mind is nourished. How- 
ever good our food may be, we are limited 
to a certain quantity of it. Overload the 
stomach, and the process of digestion goes 
on with difficulty, or perhaps stops alto- 
gether ; then death ensues. So it is with 
the mind. Crowd it with thought from 
morning till night, and instead of its being 
digested, assimilated and changed into the 
very blood of spiritual life, it simply lies in 
a confused and inactive mass in the mind. 
Therefore people are not made better ac- 
cording to the number of sermons that 
they hear, but they are benefited by words 



HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IOI 

which, having been understood and re- 
flected upon, enter into their lives, and shape 
and control their whole character. 

2. The Affirmative. — The second propo- 
sition is, a sermon morning and night, and 
the afternoon service consecrated to Bible 
classes in which both the old and the young 
may engage in the study of the Holy 
Scriptures. In this service an opportunity 
is given for mutual benefit ; all may read ; 
each may give his views upon the passage 
read ; one may profit by the views of 
another, and all may be benefited by the 
views of the teacher. Then, this being the 
only service for the afternoon, an hour can 
be fixed upon when the congregation will 
have had sufficient time to attend to home 
duties after the morning service before 
being called to attend that of the afternoon. 

Whenever two services are held upon 
the afternoon of the same day, as preach- 
ing and Sabbath-school, one is sure to 
infringe upon the time of the other ; else, if 
they are held simultaneously in separate 



102 ADDENDA. 

rooms, those who attend one cannot attend 
the other ; hence the interest is divided, 
and both services weakened thereby. Then 
the study of the Bible is of inestimable 
value to Christian growth. Therein alone 
are found the law, the testimony, the 
statutes and the commandments of the 
Lord ; therein alone is found the lamp to our 
feet, and the light to our path ; therein alone 
is found that wisdom which is more to be de- 
sired than gold — yea, than much fine gold. 
While nature makes her contribution of 
information concerning the existence of a 
God, revelation tells us what His will con- 
cerning us is. Probably the Bible is regu- 
larly or systematically read in but few fami- 
lies for want of time, inclination or ability. It 
is therefore the duty of the Church to supply 
this need. That which made the Bereans 
in point of intelligence and proficiency in 
the advance of other Christians of their 
day was, they not only listened to and ac- 
cepted the preaching of the apostles, but 
they searched the Scriptures daily to see 
whether the things preached were true. The 



HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IO3 

study of the Scriptures by the young is 
especially necessary. The development of 
the Church in active Christian work, and 
the final salvation of the human family 
from sin, is not so much dependent upon 
reformation as it is upon formation. We 
recognize in a human being three natures, 
viz., physical, intellectual and spiritual ; 
and the happiness and usefulness of the 
individual will be in proportion to the har- 
monious development of all three of these 
powers. Neither the intellectual culture 
of the Greeks nor the physical prowess of 
the Romans prevented those nations from 
falling into vices which finally brought 
about their decline and fall. "We may 
measure the growth and the decline of a 
people by the purity or corruption of their 
morals." Nothing less than the grace of 
God can keep a man or a nation from be- 
coming a castaway. But in spite of the 
fact that the importance of moral training 
is brought home to us by the accumulated 
history of all past ages, as well as by the 
everyday occurrences of the present time, 



104 ADDENDA. 

we are still unwilling to devote one-fiftieth 
part of the time to the moral and religious 
training of our children that we do to their 
secular education ; for we keep our chil- 
dren in the day-school six hours each day 
for five days in the week, and send them 
to Sabbath-school once a week for two 
hours. At the end of a school year the 
child has had twelve hundred hours in day- 
school and eighty hours in the Sabbath- 
school. Yet we seem astonished when we 
see our young people going astray, as if 
we had not known that mere secular learn- 
ing could not teach them to avoid evil, or 
give them the power to resist temptation. 
Said the great Apostle Paul, who was 
brought up at the feet of that master teacher, 
Gamaliel, " Yea, doubtless, and I count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord." It 
is this saving knowledge which the Church 
is under sacred obligations to give her 
children. If she neglects to lead them to 
God, Satan will not neglect to lead them 
away. There is no hope that this work 



HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IO5 

will be done in the secular school, for the 
Church wisely and properly assumes the 
duty herself. In some schools even the 
reading of the Bible is forbidden in order 
to avoid sectarianism. The Sabbath-school 
is not, therefore, a place where persons 
come simply to be entertained or amused ; 
it is a school whose high purpose is to train 
souls for heaven. Here the teaching is of 
sufficiently high grade to interest and in- 
struct the most advanced Bible student, 
and is also brought down to the compre- 
hension of the youngest pupils ; and thus 
those little ones do not have to be brought 
into the Church in after years, for they 
were never out of it ; they grew up in it. 
It has been well said that habit, at first a 
thread of silk, finally becomes a band of 
steel ; hence the Church owes it to her 
own perpetuity to train her children early 
in habits of right thinking and right doing, 
that they may go forth to take their places 
in the Church, in society and in the nation 
with enlightened consciences, firm princi- 
ples and unwavering faith in God ; for the 



106 ADDENDA. 

glory of the Church, the highest welfare of 
society and the perpetuity of republican 
institutions must, in the end, depend upon 
the moral and religious character of the 
men who form them. Therefore, if the 
plan of two sermons, one in the morning, 
the other at night, with the afternoon 
devoted to the study of the Bible, were 
generally adopted, and pains taken to 
make such service what it ought to be, I 
believe that the result would be a growth 
in religious knowledge, an advance in 
Christian activity and a revival of Script- 
ural holiness. 



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